St. Albert's bid to be this year's Hockeyville came to a halt Saturday night as the local project failed to advance to the final four in the nationwide contest.

The announcement came during the Hockey Night In Canada broadcast on CBC television.

Mayor Nolan Crouse said via email that his initial reaction to the news was, "Dang it!!!"

He went on to say that it was great news to land $25,000 for reaching the final 16.

"Those who were involved in putting the work in so far should be proud of enabling the community to get into the final 16 and if that meant getting us to the $25,000 threshold, that is good news for those volunteers and voters," he said.

Kraft Hockeyville is an annual competition organized by CBC Sports, Kraft Foods and the NHL in which communities across Canada demonstrate their commitment to hockey and compete for prize money by having Canadians vote for their favourite arena project.

St. Albert had advanced to the top eight in Western Canada and the top 16 overall with a project to renovate existing interior space at the Akinsdale-Kinex Arenas to provide an area for teams to warm up before their games. Reaching the top 16 means the project will receive $25,000.

Advancement to the final four was determined by online voting earlier in the week. The final four communities are Sylvan Lake, Alta.; Salmon Arm, B.C.; Kingston, N.S. and Central Bedeque, P.E.I. CBC will announce the winner during next Saturday's Hockey Night In Canada broadcast.

For additional information or to vote for one of the remaining communities, visit krafthockeyville.cbc.ca.

A St. Albert man has pleaded guilty to a deadly hit-and-run collision that killed one man and injured three others.

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